What was the result of Lin being benched? Linsanity at GSW? Linsanity in Houston? Linsanity in NY?

Linsanity in NY is true as we know. But - wasnt he just a few days from being cut? Had things been a litle different (TD playing well, team winning a few more games by themselves, Dantoni not in the mood to let Lin play) - would Lin still be an NBA player?

Lin handled the benching but the rest is fate. Others would call it gods will.

However - as humans we sometimes have to take fate into our own hands. God may lead you to the well but you have to do the drinking...

I am a simple person and I just believe that what killed you now would make you stronger in the end. I mean it must be frustrating for Lin to be benched but if he improved on the areas why he's benched, it's himself only to be benefitted in the end. Like how his benchings in GS and NY made him a better, more famous, richer player when it's said and done.

I mean it might be fun now to be a James Harden who would never got yelled at for bad D or turnovers. But if when things got serious like you were in a position to contend in the playoffs, you really think bad D and turnovers would still be tolerable and habits were so easy to go away?

Take a look at Amare. I laugh every time when he said Mike D'Antoni never taught him to play D. I mean he must have a lot of fun when in Phoenix D'Antoni never got on him. But I bet he's regretting now that he had such "freedom" before.

I really believe in Lin and I think he will take this "benching" in a positive way and improve and benefit himself in the end.

Absolutely agree with you, Cara. What doesn't kill us will make us stronger.

If Lin truly believes God has a plan for him, then he just needs to find out what lesson he needs to learn to overcome this unfair benching. The silver lining is he will minimize mistakes, increase his toughness, find new ways to get better that will only help in playoff pressure-packed environment in the future.

Etane, I think what Cara and I agreed is trials in our life will make us strong if we respond appropriately.

In Lin's GSW case, he chose not to complain publicly and worked hard in the offseason resulting in Linsanity in NY. I hope he also lobbied coaches behind the screen.

Just because Lin didn't speak up and talk to the media about the unfair benching, it doesn't mean he became passive. We know he worked his butt off but we don't know if he tried to lobby the coaches to use him properly behind the screen. I hope so because he shouldn't be a doormat letting people walk all over him.

Psalm, the situation is different now. Before, he was trying to make the team. Now, he's trying to make the team better. Can't the starting point guard of a team ask to participate in what will make the team better without being viewed as creating a spectacle?

@Cara At GS, Jeremy was a bench, he is in no position to complain "benched". That said, I did remember report mentioned that he talked to coaches multiple times that he just need a chance...... So, there you go.

However, I understand what you are saying, same with you, I like the way Jeremy did, not go with the media, but handle it himself.

Just that it does not means Jeremy just take what he is given, only that it is not reported. In Rox, we don't know what Jeremy did either.

what makes you think he hasn't spoken to the coaches about it? he's smart enough to know not to air this out in public.

do you really think he's just "whatever, i'll do whatever the coaches say" without asking questions? he may or may not agree with whatever the reasons are from the coaches but he sure ain't going to resolve this through the media. that approach never does any good to anybody.

Sure Etane, Lin should definitely lobby and try to convince the coaches behind the screen that he can contribute more than his assigned role to get some wins.

But going to the media to complain is not the answer. It is counterproductive because coaches won't hear what he has to say and he'll be portrayed as an egomaniac Asian sensation, not unlike the route that Royce White has taken. Just look back on DHoward/SVG, Kobe/Phil situation, both Howard and Kobe reputation got tarnished.

If coaches won't budge to change their failing system and keep losing, they'll eventually get fired. Simple as that.

Have you guys ever had a heart attack? It doesnt necessarily kill you but it will damage your heart - forever. How does it make you stronger? How about a stroke? Poison? Bad food? How about children who are being abused? Does it make them stronger?

I really dont understand that idiom. To me its nonsense.

I believe that JLin should speak up and show that he feels he needs to be number one PG. He should play his game - he should do what he does best - it doesnt make sense to hire an engineer for car-wash duty.

It is not just important for him - its also important for the team. What happens right now simply doesnt make sense. Psalm is right. He doesnt have to talk to the press (unless he really wants to put pressure on the coaches or escalte the situation). AND of course - who says Lin hasnt yet talked to his coaches... I sure hope he has.

Of course we all face trials in life and of course we have to respond appropriately but keep in mind... at court you have to either make your case or defend yourself. To silently endure whatever is going on is not the appropriate response. It never is.

Racha is spot on with his analysis. Jeremy would make All Star for sure if Racha was his coach that is if Jeremy doesn't get injured or wear himself out by turning on his turbo every second he's on the court.

I'm calling it. Lin is going to have a good game tonight. Don't worry, I'm with everyone who wants the Rockets to change coaches etc. But McHale is not dumb, he doesn't want to lose his job. And we already know how that little "Our new spark PG Beverly will save us went." Again, I think Lin will have a good game and the Rockets will win this one tonight.

Jeremy had a run of great games against quality teams...and it made no difference whatsoever to McHale, Sampson and Morey. They returned him to Derek Fisher duties right afterward.

And when Lin's reduced role "coincided" with the team's losses to bad and mediocre teams, what did they blame? Fatigue! Even though every single team in the NBA has to play the same basic schedule! You can't make this stuff up.

Jeremy historically have problem with this Pelican team though both in NY and in this season.

They crash the board hard, and disrupt the first pass, and run back quick, they were pretty efficient in slowing down Rockets, also they have nice shot blockers in the team, also a bigger PG. These are harder for Jeremy.

So I would not be so optimistic today, as long as he is fighting hard, I would take a loss...

My hope is that now JH is in all star already, they don't need to pad his stats, and Rox could go back to the style to give Jeremy the ball more.

"My hope is that now JH is in all star already, they don't need to pad his stats, and Rox could go back to the style to give Jeremy the ball more."

you may have hit on something here... i've suspected this all along but we'll see. even if true, i never really thought of it as a problem.... houston isn't going to win this year anyway. why not try to get your franchise player into the all star game that's being played in you city. nothing wrong with that. they need the pub.

Only 50% of his salary during his fifth year (2017-2018) is guaranteed. The rest will be guaranteed depending on whether he meets performance milestones starting next year. One of these milestones is to make the All-Star team at least once between next year and his fifth year (according to this Clutchfans article).

however, one thing I don't really get is that, during winning streak, Harden have better numbers with less minutes. Unless they would need to make him an all rounded player to have high assist numbers......

My diver friend sent me a vid link of a dolphin has a fishing line and hook entangled around his fin. It was in pain and its movement was restricted by the entanglement. It was untangled by a diver after a few mins. This dolphin vid reminds me instantly the situation in which Jeremy endures on the Rockets =( I feel the pain for Jeremy - the benching and ambiguous PG role on the team. But I strongly believe Jeremy will prevail.

Jeremy is a FIGHTER , a SURVIVOR and a WINNER!!He fought his way around to get a college scholarship and kept playing, he survived the cutting, going to the D League and stayed as an NBA player and he won the starting point guard position in a way he would not have imagined. Jeremy has accomplished SOMETHING that not too many people would get.Tha's why Jeremy is one heck of a person that is too strong to be moved by his circumstances.I dont like what is happening with him in his current team but Jeremy is just going through a season, not only in basketball but in life as well.Jeremy is too tough not to get over this and too smart not to be able to handle it. As mchale would repeatedly say ( though i think he says It out of lack of words to say) our jeremy will be fine.To all jlin fans, let's just try to enjoy the game although hard to look at it most of the time. But if jeremy shows joy while on the court even for a few mins. I guess that says it all and we shld be having fun as well watching him have fun. See you all tonight and Godbless fellow jlin suppoorters.

Remember, first season, with new team, and new teammates. And this applies to everyone on the team, not just jeremy.

i was looking forward to seeing lin develop with HIS own team as well, and we don't know at this point, yet, if he will/will not with this team. james is the franchise player and currently best player on the team. but notice that jeremy is still the face of the franchise everywhere you look. and i have a feeling that jeremy will become even more of a spokesperson for the team over time. just because there's another star on the team doesn't mean it can't also be HIS team. leadership dynamics like this aren't given but surfaces organically over time. and keep in mind as well, that developing doesn't mean improving all the time. you will have set backs.

Fighton: At this point we're kind of on tangents. I don't care whether Jeremy is the face of the team or the spokesperson. I only care that he's the point guard, therefore, this is his team. If Harden is the point guard, then this is Harden's team. But, as far as I know, and despite what McHell thinks, Jeremy is the point guard. Therefore, on the court, Jeremy is the one and only floor general. Off the court, I don't care.

Also, in response to the new team, new teammates comment, this season was supposed to be for developing the team play and get the young players up to speed. We're seeing none of this with McHell's iso street ball etchasketch plays.

Teams have already adjusted to the Houston's running game. they know to crowd harden and take their chances letting Houston's streaky shooters fire away. Mchale needs to introduce something new. The run game has gotten the players weary. It's amazing that apart from a few turned ankles and sore shoulders, there haven't been any major injuries yet. If i were mchale, i'd stress the importance of attacking the basket on EVERY SINGLE possession. i'd put Asik (C) and GSmith (PF) in TOGETHER, and I'd pull out parsons and start 2Pat or even MMorris at SF. Harden and Lin in the backcourt. The reason for the focus on the bigs is because the entire team is already shooting a poor percentage from beyond the arc. We could at least maximize the rebounds and 2nd chance opportunities while taking higher percentage shots. Meanwhile we know Harden is going to get his 20 shots a game. With additional althetic bigs to dump the ball off to, Lin would excel. Most importantly, if players come off the Houston bigs to double team on Harden, they leave a high percentage shot wide open. Point is, mchale needs to modify his strategy at this point in the season. the turnovers are too much to bear...the outside shooting percentage is embarrassing. the pace can still be uptempo, but TAKE IT TO THE HOLE!!!! PLEASE!!!!

Playing GSmith and Asik together is redundant and won't work--they will simply clog up the paint and prevent any penetration. So you can't take it to the hole with these two trees in the way. Putting 2Pat and Morris in for Parsons doesn't make sense at all. If anything, Morris should play Parsons backup than 2Pat's backup at PF because he's more of a shooting PF and nothing else--he doesn't even have a post up game. Morris also lacks Parsons quickness and versatility to guard SFs so Morris is really a one trick pony right now. So taking Parsons out will create more problems for the Roxs.

Rebounds and 2nd chance opportunities is not what the Roxs are trying to accomplish. The Rox don't care about offensive rebounds as they are getting back in transition defense which is more important for their sytle of play. So fortifying the frontcourt and shifting the balance there is not a winning solution.

The problem is not with Houston's running game. It's there constant turnovers and bad defense. If they fix and improve these areas, even a bad shooting day at the 3pt line will not cause them to lose games because defense will keep them competitive.

As far as teams have adjusted to the Rockets, that's true, but there's more to that than just playing GSMith and Asik together. McHale needs to find the right balance of attack, which includes trimming down Harden's ISOs.

The only good thing about Morris game is he can stretch the D and can shoot 3s. If anything I would rather have Terrence Jones start at the PF position because I think hé's better than 2Pat and Morris but he's too fidgety and lack stability but has a lot of talent. Hope the D-League experience serves him well because he can really help the Roxs ascend to the next level if he can come into his own.

I understand BE####'s concern. Currently, the defenders are focusing on Houston's running game because they can care less about Houston's 3pt shooters and they don't have to protect the rim since there's no big man to worry about. So, his suggestion is to address why Houston's running game isn't working. Agree with Racha that putting in both Asik and Greg wouldn't work because Asik is a road block.

The rest of what Racha said can be easily summed up as BE####'s suggestions won't work because it doesn't fit with what the Rockets are trying to do. Basically, any one who disagrees with McHell is wrong.

Well, NOH is solid on defense and they do get back in transition D. So it's pretty much a given that the Rockets running game will be stifled tonight, or maybe not we'll just have to see. We also know from JLin's current practice vid that they were pushing the ball and flying up and down the court in practice.

This game will be an interesting one. I want McHale to prove to me that they can still run with a good defensive team. And if the Rockets can't play to their strengths, how would he handle Harden's ISOs. If Mchale continue on the same course, I think he needs to be fired period. There's no way at this point he gives Harden the green light to ISO the game away.

Etane, you also mentioned in a post below that in the 1st half of the Denver game, the Roxs were playing Jlin ball. That's not exactly JLin ball but team ball with ball movement, more balanced attack, team defense, active hands = ball deflections = stops = transition points. So the Roxs were doing a lot of things right.

Also in the 1st half of the Denver game JLin playing "JLin ball" led to 2 TOs with Asik. Not blaming JLin on this one but Asik simply doesn't have the knack to play PNR and is stifling JLin's game. The bottom line is that it's not ideal to play JLin ball on this Rockets team but you still need to have those plays to have some balance. Perhaps it's the reason McHale is having a balance attack with JLin and Harden. Don't know. We'll just have to see in the NOH game.

i agree with Etane based on what I saw. I saw jlin running the point, distributing the ball, and managing the offense. they hung with denver all the way till mid 3rd quarter when denver went on their little run.

i though the turning point was mchale taking out jlin at that point and putting in bev. it was too much of a knee jerk reaction. the thing to do at that point is call a timeout, make offensive and defensive adjustments, and send the team back out to finish up the quarter (unless lin is absolutely gassed... couldn't tell on tv). i see the reason for bringing in a new body to disrupt their flow a bit but you're also not going to get any offense from a cold body.

if lin was visibly gassed on having trouble with lawson then rest him. but what i saw wasn't that - i think they should've made some team defense adjustments rather than simply sending a new body.

I'm all for Jeremy Lin being benched when the game is out of reach due to his teammates screwing the game up.

Let him stay out of injury. Let him save his energy for playing good minutes. Let him PLAY ALL 82 GAMES!

As for those teammates, let them start responding to his on court demands as a point guard. They need to realize that when Lin calls for them, it's to SET THEM UP as much as it is to go off on his own.

The problem is simple. Lin's Rockets teammates need to surrender themselves to letting Lin create opportunities for them instead of pouting about Harden's lack of team play and taking it out on Lin.

i can get behind that. Youngest team in the NBA needs to face adversity and grow a set. They'll come out stronger (that is unless Shuhow gets traded to the Lakers!) ha ha. at some point harden will realize he can't win games on his own, and they'll team basketball again. in the meantime, i guess we gotta eat some humble pie as our playoff hopes hang in the balance. but hey...at least the lakers completely suck and they got like 4 walk on hall of famers in the starting lineup...

Khuang: Rockets were already playing Jeremy ball during the first half of the game. It's after the half break that they reverted back to McHell ball. So, the problem isn't with the players. It's the coaches. You seem to have this coaches are teflon coated attitude.

I don't want to remember JLin only for Linsanity. I want JLin to be a great basketball player. I want him to be the talk of town this year, next year, and each year after that. I'm harsh but I expect a lot from him, whether he's in a suitable situation or not.

I also hope and wish that the best is yet to come but I won't let the weight of expectations to crush the hope or any current progress. As long as he fights hard and improve in every aspect, we should continue to believe in him, right?

Even if Linsanity never ever happens again, I'm as proud of him in how he carries himself on and off court. Championships will come and go but the millions of people impacted by Linsanity will stay. Little 5-year old Naim and a cancer patient that he personally reached out came to mind. That will never go away.

to be honest, i couldn't care less if he doesn't end up being the talk of town this year, next year, or ever. God gave him Linsanity and he's being a very faithful steward with it (at least from another christian's point of view), using it to impact the less fortunate through his foundation both in houston and asia.

i believe THIS is his ultimate goal for himself and for linsanity. NBA fame and linsanity is a means to an end, with the end being the impact he can make on other's lives, whether it's his teammates lives, or fan's lives.

Documentary film is just a document of someone and/or some events. It may not be necessary mean that this is the end. The impact of the Linsanity is beyond what we can imagine. This is an inspiring story and it will motivate a lot of people. To me, it is not about basketball. It is about life and how your fight through all of the adversity and get into a position that you want. I have no doubt that Lin will be as successful as he is after the pro player life.

Here's Omar Samhan, waived by the Rockets at the same time that Jeremy Lin was (hint hint - the Rockets coaches waive players like Lin and Samhan that can REALLY PLAY).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXZQc5Bc8GU

Samhan was also Jeremy Lin's Summer League 2010 roommate and pick setter. No Samhan, no picks for Jeremy Lin, no NBA for Lin.

If Kevin McHale wants to run a low post offense, HERE is the guy that can do it. Samhan is the most polished low post two way center I've seen in college basketball since Tim Duncan.

When I first posted here, I got flamed for daring to compare Samhan to a young Kevin McHale. It turns out that Samhan had a BETTER college career than a young Kevin McHale did at Minnesota, plus Samhan is a bigger and more targeted player than McHale was in college.

I'd rather have Samhan than any of the pathetically bad Rockets big men. With an NBA conditioning program, Samhan could play either power position and become a starter for this horrifically bad Rockets team.

Omar Samhan should've been a lottery pick. Me, I'd probably have drafted him #1 over John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins (who Samhan BEAT DOWN in summer league the way Lin beat down Wall).

If Les Alexander reads this board, I'd recommend him to sign Samhan to a 2 year nonguaranteed contract and stash him in the D-league as he gets in shape. Call him up once he's averaged 20 ppg and 10 rpg in that league for an entire season.

- faster (Samhan tested out as a very fast runner)- stronger - superior post moves- more big game experience- reads traps superbly, was a one man team in college- super defensive presence (avg 3+blocks his senior year, Defensive Player of the WAC)- proven success playing beside Jeremy Lin

Samhan's senior year numbers are 22+ ppg, 11+ rpg, 3+ bpg. Also, I think Samhan shot around 50% from the field. He had no trouble finishing in NBA summer league competition against Javale McGee, Jordan Hill, and DeMarcus Cousins.

Those are Samhan's numbers playing on that wimpy little Saint Mary's team that made the NCAA tournament. Samhan played a Tim Duncan role on that team and made everybody around him better.

I considered Samhan a better center prospect than Roy Hibbert and Greg Oden, based on NCAA performance alone. I'd take Samhan over both Hibbert and a healthy Greg Oden.

Omar Samhan is the "Jeremy Lin" of centers. I'll never stop pushing for his rightful inclusion in the NBA, especially on Jeremy Lin's team.

Omar Samhan and Jeremy Lin are SoCal circuit stars. They've known each other since high school and roomed together in the Dallas summer league.

Yes psalm234, the knock on Samhan is that he's PERCEIVED to be unathletic. It's also an INCORRECT perception.

During summer league, Samhan jumped up and blocked DeMarcus Cousins. Like Lin who'll regularly make astonishing athletic plays, Samhan will make plays like that too.

Samhan closes out well defensively, contests cutters, and plays excellent position defense. He tries not to foul, and he tries to body guys up. People try to jump over him, but Samhan has this way of knocking out people's legs and bouncing them out of the lane before they can even collect themselves to jump.

The other thing about Samhan is that he could lose a little weight. An NBA conditioning program would solve that. Dexter Pittman was drafted #31 overall in the year Samhan and Lin went undrafted, and Pittman is nowhere near the athlete or player that Samhan is.

The reason I have absolutely no respect for NBA scouting is that they'll first round draft a BUST like Daniel Orton (can't jump, can't run, can't play, averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds playing only a few games in his freshman season, has done nothing in the NBA) over a proven NCAA SUPERSTAR like Samhan who's got NBA written all over him.

Ummmm Summer League 2010 was when Lin and Samhan played for the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs waived Samhan, but Jeremy actually got contract offer from the Mavs and possibly the Lakers, but he turned it down in favor of playing for his home team Bay Area Warriors.This is why I feel some of Lin's struggles as an overlooked player, may be attributed to his own decision making. He didn't have to sign with Golden State, Dallas did not overlook him.

I agree with Calvin, especially the part below. At least someone outside of this board thinks that the problem is not JLin being too passive.

Host: Calvin, is Jeremy just being too passive from that standpoint? Does he need to take charge a little bit more?Murphy: Well it's not about being too passive, it's about whoever's calling shots for the team, and that would be Kevin McHale, making it known that Jeremy has got to have the ball in his hands.

And then I also liked Calvin's view of what JLin and Harden's roles should be on the team.

Host: Is that...Well, but if you take it out of James Harden's hands, that's the guy that you're building the franchise around, is he going to be able to be as effective?Murphy: He's a two guard! What does a two guard do? He finishes the play. I played both positions when I was in the pros. I was a point guard when I first came in. I moved over to the two guard, so he's the finisher. And what he's got to be able to do is to be able to finish without having the ball in his hand for eight seconds.

One more thing I like what CM mentioned, is that at Rox the role is not defined, too many people handling the ball, then there is no team flow, as it is not very clear who is responsible to control it.

I hate that after Asik got a rebound, instead of pass to Lin who is just next to him, he try to pass a half court football pass and result in an TO, blow out a great opportunity of fast break.

That without a clear role defined for each player, especially young player, would leads to these younger players not disciplined. Also when lose, it will easily lead to point fingers, as they don't know what is their responsibility, and what is their teammates'. How they are going to trust their teammate if they don't even who is suppose to do what?

Calvin Murphy sees how to play the game the right way. But I think Morey has an agenda - the Harden one. Morey has doubled down on Harden and it HAS to work. If Lin shines and Harden looks like an afterthought, then Morey will be laughed out of the league and fired.

I'm sure there are some other NBA bball heads who agree with Murphy, just as there are scrub NBA guys like Jon Barry who will die in the grave shouting that Lin is overhyped Asian junk.

The fact that 1/3 of the other NBA coaches and players call Lin a "good defender, pest defender" and then you have Colin Cowherds and Jon Barry's and the Rox fans, coaches, and commentators saying Lin can't defend a "barstool" is just how comical things are when it comes to Lin.

People hate on Lebron because he is too darn good, but people hate on Lin because they are afraid he is any good at all.

HOLY COW, CALVIN MURPHY CALLS IT EXACTLY EXACTLY LIKE WE ALL SEE IT ON HERE. I just actually listend to it. SADLY CALVIN HAS NO CLOUT WITH THE ORGANIZATION OUTSIDE OF HALFTIME AND POST GAME COLOR COMMENTARY.

Those guys interviewing him trying to sandbag Lin didn't even know what to say LOL. Luckily Murphy was a real player so nobody can say he doesn't know what he's talking about. Man, I wish someone with Murphy's mindset was coaching this team or leading the Front Office. Dumbass Morey and Mchale won't get it done....

I also love how he also calls out the obvious with the PG/no PG deal with everyone but Lin brining the ball up and making busted plays while Lin looks lost.

Sad thing is the man is actually the Rox color commentary guy and NOTHING he says on tv makes it over to the actual games. I don't know whether to feel better or worse when a guy like Murph flat out calls it on the record for what it is.

As I've said many times before, my theory is still that the Rox don't want Lin to be the star, not that Harden is here now. If Lin has the ball in his hands like we and Murph want, Lin will 100% become the star. They will win big, but Morey don't care while Mchale don't believe it's possible with Lin.

thanks for sharing that link TN4. My pet peeve is people who say that Harden should handle the ball the most because he's the best offensive player. . By that rationale, Shaq should have initiated the offense on his teams. To be the best team, you assign players the roles that they are best at.

How many Rockets have played the role of PG? Lin, Machado, Beverley, Douglas, Delfino, Harden, ...

It's no secret. They have been saying it all year long. The Rockets know what they need to do to get better. And if they didn't know, they were reminded at Thursday's practice. After losing eight of their last nine games, coaches showed film from games when the team was having success.

“Today was something really smart from our coaching staff,” forward Carlos Delfino said. “We talked about our mistakes yesterday, but all the video we did was watching good situations from December and early January. Sometimes you don't need to be hammered in the head about mistakes, but show what you did before – good stuff.”

“Today was a great practice for us because we did a lot of mental stuff,” guard Jeremy Lin said. “Just watching film of how we used to play and what it looks like when we play the way we're supposed to play – the way we played when we were successful. We just had a nice reminder of that today. I think tomorrow we'll get back to who we are and hopefully break out of this little funk we're in.”

Getting the team's confidence back is an issue, and coach Kevin McHale thought the video would help.

“We had to see how we played,” McHale said. “When we were playing well, we were moving the ball and moving bodies. We just became very stagnant over the last couple weeks and we can't play like that.”

Lin pointed out things the team noticed when they watched that video.

“We filled the corners,” Lin said. “First of all, we get everybody down low to the corners, to the blocks, and we create a lot of space. We have a lot of natural playmakers who can break the defense down, so we've got to be able to give them the space to be able to do what they do best and let it free flow from there.”

The Rocket take on the Hornets in New Orleans at 7 p.m. on Friday night.

Thank you Isabeli for posting so many related reads, very nice. I enjoy it a lot.

However, would it be better to post just the link to the article rather than the whole text? somehow this game pages grow very long quickly, that keep reloading is a pain when the thread do not get split into a new one. Thanks

Lin is more articulated than the coaching staffs. I bet Lin knows what the problems are but kept it to himself. It becomes clear that the Rocket is trying to promote Harden to the ASG. We may see a different style ball game tonight.

The Hornets used to be known as one of the league's cellar dwellers. Then again, next year, the Hornets can say they used to be known as the Hornets.

As New Orleans makes noise for switching their team name to the Pelicans starting next season, they're making plenty of noise on the floor too. The Hornets have won seven of their last 10. And this was almost eight of 10 as the team narrowly missed out Wednesday on beating the Spurs for the third time this season.

Even still, the return of Eric Gordon and/or the new calendar year has produced a much different version of the Hornets as opposed to earlier this season. In the 2012 portion of this season, the Hornets were 6-24. In the calendar year of 2013, they are 8-4 so far.

Gordon has averaged 17.4 points ever since he came back from a sore right knee. Greivis Vasquez has had his best month of the season, averaging 16.4 points and 10.3 assists in the month of January. Besides the obvious contributions of Ryan Anderson, Robin Lopez, and Anthony Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu has emerged from the doghouse to average a near double double in January.

"We're growing because we responded every time we do something bad, almost like a baby," Vasquez told reporters of the New Orleans Times Piscayune. "You tell a baby not to do this, but then the next day they do it right.

"I've been saying it the whole season," he continued. "We're so much better than our record. Our record doesn't really identify who we are. We lost six or seven games that we should've had won. And that's basketball. That's the NBA. But we still believe we can make a run and see what we have at the end of the season, so we've got to take it game by game."

The Rockets beat the 2012 version earlier this season 100-96 on November 14. They're 1-1 against the 2013 Hornets, winning 104-92 on January 2, but then falling 88-79 a week later.

Lin on Harden: 'We need to find a balance' - csnhouston (imho, more appropriate: we need to find a new coach lol)

Losing eight of their last nine games is obviously very frustrating for the Rockets.

And their leader, James Harden, maybe feels like he has to take on too much as teammate Patrick Patterson mentioned after Wednesday night’s 105-95 loss to Denver, but Jeremy Lin said it’s really a team thing.

“We have to be able to help him in what he does, aide him, complement him,” Lin said. “Then he has to use us -- and not that he's not using us – I’m just saying we just have to be able to get more of that and find a balance because he's such an elite player. We need to find a way to get him and everybody else going at the same time.”

As a team that sits at .500 and is tied with Portland for the eighth spot in the Western Conference just a little over half way through the season, they know what they need to do to keep pushing towards the playoffs.

“As the style of how we play, we've really fallen off,” coach Kevin McHale said. “We're off. We're not pushing it. Sometimes the best thing to do is to see how we did when we're holding the ball too much, playing the small spaces. We’ve got to move the ball. We’ve got to play in bigger spaces.”

“We just look like we're playing in sand right now and that's what we addressed today,” Lin said. “So today we were getting up and down, flying. That's how it's supposed to be. That's when we all have fun and we all get going.”

But despite their concerns, McHale believes they can get back to their style of play and thus their winning ways as he addressed the team.

“He keeps telling us ‘it's a long season,’” Lin said. “’We’ve got to stay together. I've been in the league for a long time and I've seen this before. We can break this thing as fast as it happened. It just takes one game to snap out of it. It really does.’”

The Rockets will have a chance to get back on track when they play at the New Orleans Hornets at 7 p.m. on Friday night.

I for one am glad the ASG roster is finalized. Now that the beard is guaranteed a spot, making Morey look good in the process, let's get back to the winning ways of the 10/12 streak.

While many called out the Rockets for stat padding Harden, there might also exist the possibility that all along, the goal was to bring down Lin's vote instead. Harden was getting so much attention already, yet trailed Lin (3rd) by a large number, so ASG starter was out of the question anyways. However, if the Rockets continued to play Linsanity ball and win 17/19, there would be a greater chance of Lin making ASG starter. That, IMHO, was Morey's fear.

The theory's actually pretty easy to prove. If in tonight's game (or the one after,) McHale goes back to the winning formula of letting Lin play pure PG, his hands would be caught right in the cookie jar.

I agree. After the winning streak, there was a baffling decision to play slow bb, bringing the ball up and distributing to Harden or shooting 3's. Altho opponents adapted to Rockets' fast breaks games (eg by holding up Lin throwing the initial ball, and getting men back) the coach's change of direction was mind boggling.

It's obvious that Lin has been directed to feed Asik with set-up balls inside the paint to improve Asik's stats but unfortunately the C has not seen absolute improvement - only partial. Is this strategy designed to trade Asik for a star C or PF?

After the ASG and the Feb 21 trade deadline it'll be interesting to see the Rockets' palying to their true potential. They can't go any worse, except tank for 2013 draft picks.

The problem with this team is most are fighting for a contract. Think about it Harden, Asik, and Lin is pretty much set, the others are all looking out for their futures. That's why they are trying to pat their stats by not setting screens and not passing the ball back. Delfino and Parsons are probably the only ones that are basketball first because Parsons knows that he'll be able to get a contract and Delfino is in the league long enough to know what he's worth. If you ask me, the problem is the power forward position. Your offense and defense ends there.

Lin's issue with this team is that he relies heavily on the pick and roll which he's not getting. The one thing that he has going is the mid range game which the coaches hate so there goes his fall back when teams take out your driving game.

Lin needs a reliable floater... forget the 3pt shot. That'll come after a couple of years. He's not a sharp shooter and shouldn't be. A solid floater will keep the defense honest because they don't know if he's going to float it or lay it in.

The other thing I see in Lin's game is his cross over. He needs to cross and pull up for a in rhythm jump shot. It doesnt need to be a pass or attack the rim. It nice when it's there but when neither is there you can pull up instead of stopping and then looking for someone.